Dorenburg Castle (Grefrath)

The Dorenburg, a manor house with an L-shaped floor plan surrounded by a moat, is located in the center of the museum grounds. Inside the castle building itself, exhibits on the bourgeois and aristocratic living culture of the Lower Rhine are displayed; on the upper floor, special exhibitions on folklore topics with regional relevance are shown.

The history of the old moated castle can be traced back to the year 1326. The castle is considered a typical example of a Lower Rhenish noble residence from the period before the Thirty Years' War. In the 14th century, the Lords of Wachtendonk ruled here.

The castle received its current appearance around 1630, when the medieval fortified castle was converted into a baroque manor. Before and after, the house, as a fief of the Duchy of Geldern, frequently changed owners until it finally passed into non-noble, peasant ownership around 1800.

During the Second World War, the north wing was severely damaged, but was rebuilt around 1970 when the complex was taken over by the Viersen district and transformed into a museum.